Costume Designer Insider: All the Scoop on the Looks from Mad Men Season 7 Episode 2

Costume Designer Insider: All the Scoop on the Looks from Mad Men Season 7 Episode 2

There was a lot of change going on during last night’s episode of Mad Men. The second episode of the final season took place on Valentine’s Day. Some say that Valentine’s Day is all about the women, and in the case of last night’s episode, it was. There were changes in both the professional and personal lives of our favorite female characters (and Don, of course)—some minor tweaks, others life-altering.

Professionally, Dawn was briefly moved to work in reception and Shirley was being reassigned. (If you missed last night’s episode, watch it first for the fashion and second for the amusing chat Dawn and Shirley have during a break at work.) Dawn, who had a huge role in last night’s episode, was dressed as her usual polished and put together self. “She is definitely more understated and quiet,” Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant (pictured, below) exclusively tells Instyle.com. And Joan, who was subtly-yet-appropriately dressed in a moody red color, was promoted to account "man." As for Janie Bryant's color choice, "I wanted the color to be deeper and darker. Her character and story line was not happy or about romance and love or anything like that," Bryant tell us.

Palma Kolansky

On a personal level, Sally and Don’s time together was perhaps the most pivotal moments of the episode. Don finally gave Sally what she wanted: honesty. So it looks like their damaged relationship was fixable after all. If you needed a sign of proof, Sally wore her monogrammed necklace that was a gift from her father. “That’s something that she always wears and actually there were a few episodes where she didn’t wear it. She was really mad at her dad, but now she’s wearing it again,” Bryant tells us.

“We saw a more serious side of Sally,” says Bryant. “I loved seeing that scene of Sally and Don at the diner and how she really turns into that adult role,” she adds. As for Don, “he’s so vulnerable and really is, probably for the first time in his life, honest with her,” says Bryant. “It was a really serious episode for Sally. And the tone and color palette really connected with the storyline.”